Cytron Technical Forum

Hi!
I have a board that connected to LCD (16x2) which I can control the backlight on and off. By pulling the white/red cable off from the board, I am no longer able to control the backlight but still able to display characters on the LCD screen.
Since I am not using the backlight of the LCD, I am thinking of adding other component such as 5V DC motor by utilizing the output voltage from the board (used to light up the backlight). However, the motor seems failed to function well. I am suspecting it could caused by low current supply from the board.
Thus, is there a way how I can amplify the current or should I add any component or circuit. Really appreciate if someone could share some advice. Thanks.

Hi musofa81,

May I know what board do you used? What is "white/red cable"? Maybe you can share your hardware photo here, so others can understand your hardware.
To drive motor, you can't directly connect to the MCU GPIO, you need a motor driver.

Thanks.

Hi Idris,
FYI, I am using RFID reader that comes with LCD (16x2) display. Since I am able to control the backlight on and OFF, I was thinking to utilize from the same voltage output (5V) from the RFID board to control another component such as 5V motor, instead of controlling the backlight. Furthermore, I don't use the backlight anyway. The white/red cable actually is a power cable to the LCD display for the backlight which I can control the supply of voltage my programming.

As you suggested to use a motor driver, may I know the things that I should consider in choosing the right motor drive to be use with the RFID board. My concern is the current from my board might not strong enough to be use as an input voltage for the motor driver. Do you have any suggestion or option in case the current from my board is very low and is there a way how I can amplify it.

Thanks!